I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to wine making and in particular to a means for separating sediment from bottled wine. More specifically the invention relates to caps for wine bottles which are designed to promote separation of the sediment from the wine while the bottle remains capped.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In the process of making wine particles of fruit and other particles remain mixed with the wine and must be removed before the wine is distributed for sale. Removal of the material is especially difficult with effervescent wines i.e. wines generally referred to as champagnes. Among the processes used for removing sediments from effervescent wines is the charmat process. This process uses pressurized tanks and equipment. Such equipment is expensive and the process is only economical when used for large commercial quantities of wine.
Other methods include those known generally as methode champenoise. In one such process, sediment is captured in frangible neck portions of elongated bottles. The necks are then frozen and the frangible portions removed from the bottles so the sediment can be discarded, and only purified wine will remain in the bottles. This type of operation is labor intensive, requires a substantial amount of apparatus for installation of a temporary cap, freezing, discarding of the neck collected substance, and recapping of the bottles.
It is also known to remove sediment from bottled wine by decanting. Decanting requires that the sediment be allowed to settle in the bottle and then the contents are poured from one bottle into another container. A certain amount of the wine must be retained in the bottle together with the sediment. Very often a substantial portion of the wine remains.
Another method of clarification particularly of wines other than the effervescent type is by the distillation process in which the wine is vaporized and then collected, cooled and condensed. This method also requires a substantial amount of apparatus and is time consuming. It substantially increases the cost of producing wine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,604 granted Mar. 5, 1985 to Don Martus discloses a closure cap for a bottle which cap includes a chamber having an end normally open and in communication with the interior of the bottle. A plug closes the other end of the tubular housing and the plug is movable inwardly of the housing. The plug includes an elongated stem having a valve. By movement of the plug inwardly the valve will close against a seat formed in the open end of the housing so that sediment which has settled in the chamber when the bottle has been inverted will become trapped within the cap and remain separated from the contents of the bottle even though the bottle should then be turned top up.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,115 granted Aug. 18, 1987 to Bongiovanni discloses a cap for use in trapping sediment wherein the cap has a series of slots at it innermost end which leads to a chamber within the cap. The bottle can be tipped for the sediment to collect within the cap. Thereafter a second cylindrical body element can be screwed inwardly of the cap proper to close the slots and trap the sediment within the cap.
The Bongiovanni invention relies on an elongated threaded member to close a series of elongated slots extending around the periphery of the bottle cap and does not provide a simple valve structure.